TheOrteganator Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 About all the information I have is already in the title.. what can you guys tell me about this engine? I'm told it was an engine produced by JWT in the 90's based on a L28 and then bored/stroked to 3.1, I'm sure similar to the projects using the LD28 crank. I've been speaking with a guy who wants to sell me one with under 20k miles on it, $18,000 supposedly into the engine including the built block from JWT a few years ago and the headwork. Claimed 350hp. Anyone know anything about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 $18,000? You could do an REALLY nice LSX build for that, most likely starting out with 350HP. Personally I wouldn't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 Don't worry, I'm not paying anywhere near $18k for it, that's just what he has put into it with the block from JWT and then the head work. I'm getting a hell of a deal on it if I buy it. Includes triple Webers and full JWT exhaust as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissan2ner831 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 haha why is the recommendation to everyone just swap in a V8?? =P I understand that power to cost is something you always are looking at, but like I've said before, if I wanted a V8 I'd just buy an american muscle car XD. Though I admit having a V8 in a chasis as light as a 240Z would be nice =P I'd rather stick with a Chevy Nova to be honest though =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozconnection Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Call JWT....they may have details for you if they recorded the block number as part of their I.D. process. Good luck with your project. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboHLS30 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 haha why is the recommendation to everyone just swap in a V8?? =P I understand that power to cost is something you always are looking at, but like I've said before, if I wanted a V8 I'd just buy an american muscle car XD. Though I admit having a V8 in a chasis as light as a 240Z would be nice =P I'd rather stick with a Chevy Nova to be honest though =P but the only V8 i would put in a Z is a 1UZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) Yeah, before buying it, I'd call and talk with Jim or Clark. There are some of these engines out there, he used the HKS Plenums on them and Mikuinis, not Webers. There was one on e-bay that sdidn't sell for well under 1/3 that price. With the advent of EFI, those carbs are an unrequired pain. Add some money for ITB's (about $350 a piece, new) and replace the carbs, then get a decent EMS for driving the injectors you supply and your world will be FAR better and happier than with jets, emulsion tubes, and heat soak issues in SoCal Summer Traffic...especially with the crap gas you get today. In the 90's, the last bastion of carburettor-friendly fuel was Arco Phosporous Blended stuff, and Chevron. They were the last to say 'bye bye' to carby fuel. 76 makes carbie fuel for off road use... so does VP and ERC... But you pay dearly for it compared to what normal EFI ready pump gas sells for today. Go EFI, and never look back. Nostaliga is great, but driving it today also reminds you why you're a bitter old man at the same time! Edited September 6, 2009 by Tony D BAH! it DIDN'T SELL, is what I thought I typed!~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Thanks for the input you guys. Going to EFI is definitely in the future for this engine, but for now I'll be rolling with the Webers (he replaced the Mikunis) until funding shows up for the EFI swap. Do you recall how much the one on eBay sold for? I'm 99% sure I'm getting the deal of a lifetime on this engine.. don't want to say how much I'm paying until it's a done deal but factoring in the amount that went into this engine, the exhaust that's being given with it, and the fact that he's throwing in a spare running L24 for the heck of it he's really practically giving it away, seems like he's genuinely more interested in seeing it go to a good project rather than get a lot of money out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Didn't sell at $5500, and it was a documented JWT build with receipts and the JWT Build/Serial Number Plate. Why would he change to Webers from a set of sorted Mikuinis? That makes for a terrible blowthrough setup. The Mikuinis are far superior in the blowthrough application. The EFI swap is not as expensive as you think. If the engine is complete, just a set of ITB's and you are on your way. NEW ITB's can be had out of Australia in 45mm 'economy' packages with all linkage, tubes and pipes for fuel, TPS mounts, etc, for $1700 AU... meaning multiply by .82 to get US$ price. Shipping is minimal. I ran out of time to have my Pro set shipped to me while in country, otherwise I would have done that. Got busy with work and had no time to make the call and get them on the way. Too late now, leaving in a week and don't need $2000 of EFI hardware (state of the art or not) showing up behind me for the guys at RotEq to mull over 'Eeeh, what that bloke Tony have mailed to us here?' Add megasquirt for $400 and you're styling with none of the carb headaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Didn't sell at $5500, and it was a documented JWT build with receipts and the JWT Build/Serial Number Plate.Why would he change to Webers from a set of sorted Mikuinis? That makes for a terrible blowthrough setup. The Mikuinis are far superior in the blowthrough application. The EFI swap is not as expensive as you think. If the engine is complete, just a set of ITB's and you are on your way. NEW ITB's can be had out of Australia in 45mm 'economy' packages with all linkage, tubes and pipes for fuel, TPS mounts, etc, for $1700 AU... meaning multiply by .82 to get US$ price. Shipping is minimal. I ran out of time to have my Pro set shipped to me while in country, otherwise I would have done that. Got busy with work and had no time to make the call and get them on the way. Too late now, leaving in a week and don't need $2000 of EFI hardware (state of the art or not) showing up behind me for the guys at RotEq to mull over 'Eeeh, what that bloke Tony have mailed to us here?' Add megasquirt for $400 and you're styling with none of the carb headaches. No idea why he changed to Webers, but in any case I do agree that carbs are terrible in general. He had a lot of additional headwork done so maybe it had something to do with that? Fuel injection and possibly ITB's will definitely be in future plans but being 18 I don't exactly have $1k plus to go drop on ITB's haha so I'll be dealing with carbs for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozconnection Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 NEW ITB's can be had out of Australia in 45mm 'economy' packages with all linkage, tubes and pipes for fuel, TPS mounts, etc, for $1700 AU... meaning multiply by .82 to get US$ price. Shipping is minimal. I ran out of time to have my Pro set shipped to me while in country, otherwise I would have done that. "We are the lucky country" Tony! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garvice Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 You can send them to me Tony. I will hold them for you until your next trip back here. I can even "Run them in" for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 haha why is the recommendation to everyone just swap in a V8?? =P I understand that power to cost is something you always are looking at, but like I've said before, if I wanted a V8 I'd just buy an american muscle car XD. Though I admit having a V8 in a chasis as light as a 240Z would be nice =P I'd rather stick with a Chevy Nova to be honest though =P It might have something to do with the fact that this forum was established specifically to support people interested in doing SBC swaps on their Z's. That's what the "hybrid" in HybridZ refers to. The originators of the site were gracious enough to let the rest of us in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 EFI would certainly be nice but there are other priorities first since I'm only 18 and trying to build a track car on my own. The engine was never planned this early but getting this deal just happened to align perfectly with a broken crank pulley stuck on my L28's crank and it just didn't make sense to throw money at an engine I wanted to eventually replace anyway nor did it make sense to pass up this deal. No idea why he replaced the Mikunis, he did a lot of additional head work to the engine so maybe it was something to do with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissan2ner831 Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 It might have something to do with the fact that this forum was established specifically to support people interested in doing SBC swaps on their Z's. That's what the "hybrid" in HybridZ refers to. The originators of the site were gracious enough to let the rest of us in. haha well I understand the hybrid thing =P I'm not trying to put down V8 swaps or nothin, they make for some serious fast Z's. It may just be I like the idea of doing things a little more uniquely, like sticking with an L-series engine (hey, putting a LD28 block is as much of a hybrid as swapping in a V8) or doing something else that is unique. Part of the reason why I want to do a Datsun is to make myself "different" from all my friends who are crazy about Camaros and Mustangs and such....besides I was always into japanese cars =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 Well it's a done deal... going to pick up the motor in a couple of hours. We settled on $2300 for the JWT motor, JWT exhaust tuned specifically for the Wolftrain, and a spare L24 that's he's throwing in for the hell of it. Saves me the time and headache of doing my own build- I'm just going to do a valve adjustment, timing, plugs, common to go bad seals, etc. to make sure I have no trouble once I swap it in. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben280zx Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Nice, don't forget to snOw some pictures for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Sounds like a good deal, if its in good shape. As for the exhaust, would it still be "tuned" if the carbs were changed out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrteganator Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 Sounds like a good deal, if its in good shape. As for the exhaust, would it still be "tuned" if the carbs were changed out? That's a very good point, and I did in fact think about that. For now I'm actually going to run my previous exhaust which was already extremely free flowing (custom built from ceramic coated headers/ 2.5" piping, resonator, and muffler) until I clean up the JWT headers and exhaust and get them ready to bolt in. I'll probably look to a different exhaust option in the future when I go to EFI and ditch the carbs. Nice, don't forget to snOw some pictures for us. Will do. Already grabbed a couple pics and will have more once the swap is done. If everything goes as planned the swap will be complete tomorrow. Just radiator, driveshaft, shift linkage, hook the starter. alternator and ignition back up, fluids, and then it should be ready for startup and driving if all goes well. Of course I'm going through and doing new cap/rotor, wires, plugs, oil, and filter before startup as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letitsnow Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Sounds like a good deal, if its in good shape. As for the exhaust, would it still be "tuned" if the carbs were changed out? Yes, the resonant frequency(of the exhaust) won't change with the carbs, that doesn't mean the engine won't perform differently though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.